Been Busy, Been Away...

[Ray C]

Hi Gang,

Just want to check-in as I've been busier than a one-armed wallpaper hanger the last couple weeks. Things are going OK and there's a slim chance my business will survive. No appreciable cash flow as it's still paying-off the money I self-invested but, I've got work.

The last few weeks, I've been on-site at a local yacht yard doing subcontracting for the largest repair and custom service shop in the area. I've been doing side work for this place for years now. I also do specialized work on the yacht electronic and mechanical systems (no, I don't do fiberglass) as well as any custom metal part a boat owner could possibly want. The work is pretty tough by many standards. Even though most are between 40 to 60 feet long, they have all the comforts of home (and then some) and things are crammed in there like you wouldn't believe.

I worked on a boat today that's got an instrument panel that cost more than my house. You need to really think things through before you start cutting holes. I made brass and stainless steel gauge covers for him last year. Now he want's more stuff. I wish I could just do machine work but, in order to get my name out for that, I have to do a lot of other vessel work. I've got to pull a 40kW generator next week, re-build it etc... Last week, I fabricated a prop-shaft / motor coupling for a 700 HP Cat. The other work has it's moments of fun but, I'd rather be behind the mill or lathe. It's getting there... I've got more than a few return customers other than my prime-contractor and I've picked up a few referrals...

Anyhow, this is the extreme busy season for this line of work so my visits here are limited to a quick checkin early in the morning and from 7pm on. I'm still answering emails through the day, answering calls and helping folks with their machines and that will continue as always...


Ray

 

[xalky]

Hi Gang,

Things are going OK and there's a slim chance my business will survive.

Ray I'm glad to hear that you have plenty of work. The above sentence caught my eye. I read it as if you thought that there was a good chance that you would not stay in business, and I'm hoping that's not what you meant! If that is indeed what you meant, then I'm just gonna have to give you a good tongue lashing.
:nono:

If you meant that there's a good chance that your business will survive, well, that's the right attitude to have. A better attitude is, "I'm kicking ass, and there aint nobody that can stop me!" )

Marcel

 

[chuckorlando]

Glad to hear you got work. Even if it aint the work you want it keeps your foot in alot of doors and money coming in

 

[Ray C]

Just to clarify, I wouldn't have embarked on this if it was a suicide mission. The general work at the yacht yard is to get exposure to some of boat owners and the numerous yacht management companies (of which there are more than you can count) who hire prime contractors. My current prime contractor has been sending me his machine work for a while now but, I need to get more work from more primes. These vessels start at a quarter million and go up from there and the owners and management companies are very particular about who they work with. They don't deal with any joe blow and tend to only work with people familiar with that yard and the dozen or so primes that do most of the work there. Boat yards have a culture -especially with the people who work within them or provide services to them.

Today, we wrapped-up early due to some snow (it's really hard to walk on slippery fiberglass decks) and with that spare time, I checked out some pad lots. I also looked last weekend too.


Ray